Please join United Methodists, members of the Immigrant and Faith Communities, and National Justice for Our Neighbors as we gather together in Dilley, Texas on May 2, 2015.
We will be calling on the Department of Homeland Security to end Family Detention, and to instead seek a just and humane alternative for migrants and asylum seekers.
In conjunction with the action, a faith caucus from Detention Watch Network will seek a meeting with the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships the week of May 4. They will present a letter addressed to President Obama that raises our concerns about family detention.
Dilley is operated by the for-profit Corrections Corporation of America, which opened its doors in December following a prolonged child migrant crisis along the U.S.- Mexico border. Women and children are treated as prisoners and commodities, not as refugees in need of compassion. Many are held without bond or with bond as high as $10,000 in an effort to deter future migration. Few have access to legal services.
At a similar detention center in Texas, 78 women recently demanded their release, and 40 of them launched a hunger and work strike.
“National Justice For Our Neighbors is proud to stand in solidarity with the women and children in Dilley and Karnes County, Texas,” states Melissa Bowe, NJFON’s program manager. “We believe that all people’s rights and dignity must be respected. The detention of families is deeply problematic and violates international human rights law.”
For more information or to register, please visit: GrassrootsLeadership.org
#EndFamilyDetention
